Fairytail Cafe
by MamaBearKat
Summary: Sooo, I was feeling inspired by the cute Fairytail merch released by Charaum Cafe. Entree is self indulgent NaLu romantic angst, with two middle courses of mutual pining, with a NaLu lemon souffle on the menu for dessert. NB: This fic mentions sexual assault - if this is triggering for you, please don't read!
1. Entree

"Strawberry dessert for Table 8 Mira!" called out Erza, flicking her dark red pigtails over her shoulder. Mira was in her element at her post behind the dessert bar, already plating up, so Erza stayed for a moment to wait, taking a moment to look back at the café.

It was the tail end of the controlled chaos that was the lunchtime rush, the buzz of happy chatting customers only broken by the occasional clink of cutlery on china. Most of the customers had already been served their meals and were happily indulging in the sweet desserts and pretty drinks that the café was famous for. Erza smiled the satisfied smile of a person almost finished a job well done. They only had about twenty minutes left of their shift before Team Shadowgear and Gajeel and Lily would arrive to take on the afternoon shift, and she was eager to get home to Fairy Hills and soak in the open-air bath. Stockings and heels may be pretty, but after working a busy six-hour shift waiting on tables, her feet ached.

When Master had said he'd finalised a deal with a local theme café to have a Fairytail month, where each team took shifts as wait staff, none of them had realised just how popular it would be. The café was booked out for the next three weeks, and Max had gone to town designing merchandise – coffee mugs, stickers, acrylic standees, keyrings – but they all seemed to be selling. Erza was particularly proud of the fact that her keyrings had already sold out.

Their team seemed to be very popular so far, with Erza and Lucy as waitresses, Happy and Carla as drinks waiters, Natsu as a busboy, Gray on drinks and Wendy on desserts. She had been rostered on desserts the first day, and admittedly that had not gone well; Wendy possessed much more self-control around sweets than she did. And they were all very grateful that the usual kitchen staff took care of the cooked meals – she was sure Natsu being left to his own devices in a kitchen would result in catastrophe.

Poor Wendy had called in sick with a cold today, with Carla staying home too, to keep an eye on her. They were lucky that Mira had happily taken her shift; her experience behind the bar at Fairytail made her a valuable ally on a job like this.

"There, all done", said Mira, adding a sprig of mint as a garnish. Erza drooled a little at the plate decorated with strawberry coulis with three different strawberry themed desserts, including cheesecake.

"No eating until you're on break Erza", she teased, handing over the finished plate.

"I know", Erza grumbled, carefully picking up the plate and placing it on her tray, ready to head back out into the café.

Gray grinned slyly at her, finishing off another icy drink order, frosting the top of the glass carefully.

"I've never known you to be so restrained around cheesecake Erza. Much better than you were the first day." He handed the drink to Happy, who was ready to zoom it over to the waiting customer.

"Yeah, poor Erza" teased Happy, an annoying grin on his face. "Having to look at cheesecake all day and not allowed to eat any! I bet there'll be none left for you!" Happy zoomed out of Erza's attack range quickly, taking the frosted drink with him. He might be cheeky, but he wasn't stupid.

"Don't worry", whispered Mira behind her hand, "I've saved one for you". She winked as Erza headed back out on to the floor, dessert held high on a tray so she wouldn't be tempted, a serene smile on her face as a waft of strawberry scent from the dessert floated down to her.

Natsu grumped his way around, picking up and stacking empty plates on his trolley. He really didn't like this job. He hated his uniform, black shoes, pants, apron and vest over a white shirt. At least they let him keep his scarf. He missed his usual clothes, not only because they were comfortable, but this uniform wasn't flameproof like his trademark pants and jacket, so he had to be careful with his magic. It made him feel agitated and antsy. He couldn't even let off a little steam fighting anyone, and he was stuck inside for hours, picking up after messy customers when they left.

But that wasn't the worst of it. He kept one eye on Lucy at all times as he picked up the dirty dishes and glasses. That uniform they had her in was drawing every pervert's eyes in the place to her; thigh high white beribboned stockings and a tiny strapless black dress with an even tinier apron. It was so short she couldn't even bend down in the thing, but had to bob down, bending her knees a little to place plates on the tables. Watching all the leering looks and crass comments about his partner had him on edge and after five straight days of it, he was almost at his limit.

He could tell Lucy was uncomfortable, and he'd spoken to her about it last night when he'd walked her home, but she'd brushed off his concerns, saying it was probably all in good fun. It didn't seem like she was having fun though. Her smile this week didn't have its usual brilliance, and he could tell she was dreading coming into work here now. Even though she said she didn't want to say anything to Gramps about it, after today, he definitely would.

For instance, those pricks on Table 5 had been leering at her every lunchtime this week, and he'd been watching them get more and more blatant, their comments more personal, especially that prick in the grey pinstriped suit. The table was up the back of the café, a booth with high sides, and they obviously thought they could get away with it.

These bastards needed to be taught how to be respectful, and he was pretty sure his fist in their face would do the job – he'd be happy to do it. He growled under his breath, watching the men on the table cackle as she approached with their order, her tray full of hot coffee. As he heard what they were saying, the air around him shimmered with heat, and his low rumbling growl startled the customers around him. Fuck, this was the last straw. He looked around for Erza, knowing if he went over all by himself, he wouldn't be able to stop himself punching the sick leer off that prick's face. This was gonna end now!

Lucy was not having a good day. It was her fifth lunchtime shift as a waitress, and the same table of guys was back again. They were all business men, dressed in suits, and they seemed to be here every lunch time, and asked for her by name whenever she was working. To put it bluntly, they were a little more 'handsy' than she liked, and it was creeping her out. She didn't mind smiling and flirting a little, understood it was part of the job, but they were taking it too far.

And this uniform she was wearing didn't help. She was very comfortable with her body, and had no problem showing it off thank you very much, but this was a little too much, even for her. They had all given their measurements to Master before the uniforms were ordered, but hers was more than a little on the small side, and she had a feeling that was entirely his fault, dirty old man.

One guy in particular on that table had her feeling very unsure of herself. He was tall and muscular, imposing, his black hair slicked back, his fingers covered in gold rings. His appearance was always impeccable, a crisp snow-white shirt under a dark grey pinstriped suit. He had the air of someone who always got what he wanted, and if it wasn't given freely, he took it. He reminded her of some of her father's business associates, and just looking at him made her skin crawl.

The first day, he had stared at her blatantly, not even trying to hide the leering grin as he took in the soft skin exposed by her uniform. She had to resist using her hands to cover herself; she was Lucy Heartfilia, a mage of Fairytail, and she would not let anyone make her feel small. She had looked him straight back in the eye, her chin pushed out defiantly; that usually worked when she caught someone perving at her on a job, but this man was different. He seemed to take it as a personal challenge.

Now every day he had grown more bold, touches on her hand and arm as she placed plates on the table, whispering his order to force her to lean forward a little so she could hear, saying things about her soft skin, her long legs, her golden hair. She could feel his eyes on her even as she waited on the other tables, and it made her feel vaguely dirtied, even though she had done nothing wrong. His friends seemed to encourage him, laughing yesterday when he had got a small squeak out of her when his hand had brushed the bare skin of her thigh in between her short skirt and thigh high stockings.

She had almost decided to talk to Master about it but had decided against it. They only had two more days of this lunchtime shift left, and then they would be swapping to breakfasts. She could stick it out for two more days. And besides, they were in a crowded café, and Natsu was here with her. Nothing really bad could happen.

She could feel Natsu's eyes watching her as she carried the tray full of coffee over to the table of businessmen. His eyes made her feel the opposite of that creep's. They were full of warmth and support. When he had spoken to her last night about his concerns, it was the happiest she had felt all week, knowing he was watching out for her. She held her head high as she approached the table of business men warily, a fake grin plastered on her face. This was their last order for the day, and then she wouldn't have to come near their table again. And maybe they wouldn't even be here tomorrow, seeing it was the weekend. This might be the last time she ever had to see him. She could do this.

"A tall black for you, sir…", she began, putting the first cup down, trying to stay as far out of hands reach as possible. The man in the pin-striped suit was behind her, and she wanted to get through this as fast as possible. She hadn't counted on him grabbing her around the waist and pulling her sideways onto his lap, her back towards the rest of the cafe.

"So, when do you get off work, sweet cheeks?" he said, one hand gripping her upper thigh, the other running lightly up the side of her breast and latching on to her upper arm. She gasped, struggling to get off his lap, while balancing a tray full of hot coffee in her hands.

"Let go of me you creep!" she hissed, and was mortified when he pulled her closer, feeling his hard erection pushing up underneath the short skirt of her maid's uniform. She balanced the tray on the edge of the table, holding it steady with one hand as she struggled to push the hand squeezing her thigh away with the other.

"Don't be so coy baby", he breathed into her ear, as the other men on the table laughed. "You've been smiling at me all week, flaunting those tits and those creamy thighs of yours. How about we all meet up after work tonight. And wear your uniform. I'm sure we could come up with other services you could provide."

Lucy felt sick. Although she was pretty strong, she was having trouble getting out of this guy's grasp, and the fact that his friends were laughing about her predicament made her feel even more unsafe. She didn't want to cause a scene by using her magic. Her zodiac spirits were not known for their sense of restraint, and she didn't want to damage the place, not when Fairytail was booked on a job here for the next three weeks. It was a chance for everyone in the guild to be doing well-paid safe work, and she didn't want to jeopardise that.

She could feel her keys pulsing against her hip, Loke's especially, and she pushed back against his gate with every ounce of will she could. She could call Natsu or Erza over, but they would probably be worse than Loke. If she diffused the situation peacefully, there'd be no property damage, and no one from Fairytail would lose out. She tried speaking in a loud firm voice.

"Please", she said, pushing at his hand again, "I'm not enjoying this. I don't feel comfortable when you touch me like that. I want you to let me go."

"Oh yeah baby?" he whispered with a leer, his mouth so close that his lips touched her neck. "What if I touched you like this?" She shuddered in revulsion as his hand suddenly slid under her skirt, and she let go of the tray, the hot coffee spilling all over her white stockings, burning her skin. She desperately tried to shift herself away from him, but his grasp on her upper arm was bruising, and he'd wrapped his legs around her calves, locking her in place.

She felt bile rise up in her throat, her heart beating double time as she twisted, trying to get away from those groping fingers that had now slipped in the side of her panties. She wanted to Lucy kick him into oblivion, safe restaurant work be damned, but when his fingers groped and pushed in a place that no man had ever touched before, she froze. "Let me go", she whimpered.

A sudden aura of heat surrounded them. Lucy mentally sighed in relief. She had her back to whatever had the rest of the table gasping in sudden fear, but she would recognise that warmth anywhere.

"Is there a problem here?" a stern female voice asked.

Lucy was pushed unceremoniously to the hard wooden floor, half empty coffee cups clattering and breaking around her, and Natsu was instantly at her side. Lucy could feel heated rage pouring off him and she smelled a faint scent of singed cotton over the spilt coffee. She was amazed that he was actually keeping level headed enough to not be tearing the restaurant apart.

He touched her arm gently. "Are you okay Luce?" his voice gravelly with barely controlled anger. She nodded, keeping her head down, and he helped her to her feet.

"Natsu, take Lucy out to the kitchen and make sure she's alright", said Erza, her voice steely. "I'm just going to have a chat to these customers about Fairytail's policies regarding respect of customer service personnel." There was a bright flash of a summoning circle as she requipped into her Hearts Cruz armour.

Natsu put one arm around Lucy's shoulders and steered her around the tables towards the kitchen, past the customers craning their necks trying to work out what was going on. He paused for a moment to let the rest of the team know what had happened, his arm still curved protectively around her.

Lucy's head hung down, keeping her gaze on Natsu's black shoes. It was so weird seeing him in lace up shoes. She wondered vaguely if they hurt his feet. The crackling sound of ice magic underpinned Natsu's continual low growl as he told them his version of what had happened; Gray was obviously upset also.

"Natsu, take her home. Team Shadowgear will be here any minute for the next shift, we can manage until then" Mira said softly. When Lucy looked up and began to protest, Mira came out from behind the bar to hug her gently.

"Sweetheart it's okay. I want you to go home, we can handle things here. Natsu will stay with you if that's what you want, to make sure you feel safe."

Lucy's brown eyes filled with tears, and her bottom lip trembled a little. "I'm sorry to cause such a bother Mira. I thought I could handle them, we were only on this shift for two more days. I didn't expect any of them to get so…" She could see Gray and Happy looking at her in concern, and she suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here.

Mira smiled sadly. "Please don't apologise. No one should expect that." All five of them looked over towards the booth, where Erza, still wearing her armour, was leaning aggressively over the table, her gauntleted hands on her hips. They could hear a faint whimpering coming from the man who had molested Lucy, and Natsu suddenly sniggered.

"Erza sure has a good imagination. I don't think it's even physically possible for a dick to do that."

"Oh my", Mira smiled behind her hand. "I'd better go check on things to make sure she doesn't take it too far. I'll get the owner and Master down here straight away and we'll sort this out. Take her home Natsu."

Natsu curled his arm around Lucy again. "Tell Master I'm happy to talk to him about what happened. I heard every single thing that sick fucker said today, and all the stuff he's been saying earlier in the week." Lucy shuddered against him, and he looked at her anxiously. They headed out through the kitchen to the staff entrance for the short walk back to Lucy's apartment.

Lucy was silent for the whole walk back, and it had Natsu unsettled. Usually when they walked, she was full of chatter, and though he didn't always listen to every single word she said, he liked it. It was a friendly happy noise, one of the things that made up Lucy. She was quiet sometimes, but that was usually when she was thinking, sitting at her desk to write, and it didn't have the same feel that this silence did.

She still smelt of fear and panic. Even though he'd heard what was being said, he hadn't been able to see exactly what was going on as Lucy's back had been to him while he was looking for Erza. The words and the way the bastard had pulled her onto his lap and gripped her arm were bad enough. He wished he hadn't restrained himself and had broken his nose, scorched him up a little. It would have made him feel a whole lot better, even though it would have caused trouble.

They walked up the stairs and stopped in front of her door.

"Lucy, are you sure you want me to stay? If you'd rather be alone, I'd be happy to…"

"I don't want you to go", said Lucy in a quiet flat voice. She got out her door key with trembling fingers, trying to make it fit in the lock, and startled when he took the key and opened the door himself for her. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Loke appeared in a bright flash of magic, his face frantic.

"Lucy, why wouldn't you let me through! I could have taken him out!"

"Loke", Lucy said softly, "I wasn't sure you or the others would have been able to restrain yourselves; I could feel how angry you were." She sighed, her eyes downward, avoiding Loke's gaze. "Fairytail is working there for the next three weeks. It's safe work for everyone, and it's well paid. I didn't want to take that away from everyone if we damaged the restaurant."

"Why on earth would that matter!?" said Loke, his tone angry. "It's our purpose to protect you, our master, from all harm. What he did was…" Loke swallowed, pacing agitatedly around the coffee table. "Why wouldn't you let us help you?"

Until then, Natsu had been standing in the background quietly, listening to the conversation. At Loke's words, he realised what had happened to Lucy was a lot worse than he thought. The rage that had dulled to a simmer began to rise again, heat rolling off him.

"Loke", he rumbled, his voice dark with anger, "get your ass down there to the café. Mira was gonna call Gramps. I want you to tell him everything that happened. Every single thing that prick did, every time his filthy hands touched her." At his words Lucy whimpered, and he smelt the tang of her tears.

Loke looked back at Lucy uncertainly, before turning back to Natsu. "You promise you'll take care of her?"

"I promise. You know she'll be safe with me."

Loke nodded, then disappeared in a shower of golden light. As soon as he was gone, Lucy's legs folded under her, and she crumpled to the floor, sitting like a puppet with cut strings. After hesitating a moment, Natsu picked her up gently, and carried her over to the sofa, pulling away after placing her down. Her hands clutched at him.

"I don't want you to go", she said in the same flat voice as before. Natsu nodded and sat beside her, his fists clenched, close by but not touching her. He wanted to hug her so badly, push away the stench of her fear combined with the scent of that bastard, and cover her with his own scent, but what he wanted wasn't important right now.

"I'm sorry", said Lucy in a small voice.

"Lucy", he rumbled, "there is nothing at all that you need to apologise for. Nothing!"

"I should have listened to you. Yesterday. When you said you wanted to tell Gramps. I thought about it, I had a bad feeling about that guy, but I didn't want to cause any trouble. I didn't think he would try anything like that." She looked up suddenly, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh gods Natsu, what if he… what if he finds out where I live? What if he followed me home? I couldn't… I couldn't bear…" Fat tears began to roll down her cheeks, her bottom lip trembling, and Natsu couldn't stand it any longer.

"Lucy, can I hug you? Please?"

Lucy scooted over towards him, her arms open, and he picked her up and put her in his lap, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping his arms around her tightly. She curled herself up into a ball and began sobbing. He rocked her gently, trying to calm her.

"It's okay Luce, it's okay. You're safe here with me. I won't let him near you again. If I even see him near you, I'll incinerate him. You don't have ta worry." Lucy burrowed her face into his chest, her hot tears wetting is shirt, as he continued to rock her.

All his protective feelings were roused, the urge to protect and soothe his precious girl, his partner and friend that he had gradually come to care for deeply, and a deep rumbling vibrated in his chest. He wished he had the courage to tell Lucy exactly how he felt about her, but this was not the time. For now, this was enough.

"Natsu, are you purring?" whispered Lucy, her voice a little broken still from sobbing so hard.

"Uh, yeah?" he said, feeling a little embarrassed. He had never made this sound when holding her before, not when she was awake, anyway. It was a private sound, one reserved for comforting a mate, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to have that conversation with her.

"I like it", she whispered, snuggling her face into his chest. The rumbling sound became louder, and she giggled a little, as Natsu rubbed his cheek into her hair, both of them in no hurry to move.


	2. Second Course

Natsu hugged her on the sofa for half an hour, purring to her and stroking her hair until her heart beat calmed, and the scent of fear had left her. With a deep sigh, she got up and went into the bathroom to have a shower. He'd been happily raiding her fridge, sniffing at some questionable looking ham and wondering if it was worth the risk, when he'd heard the first hiss and whimper.

"Lucy? Are you okay?" His hand went to the bathroom door, ready to slide it open to check on her.

Her frantic cry of "Don't come in!", had him anxiously pausing. Normally he would just barge in, but after today… He knew he was second guessing everything he did, because he wanted to care for her like a mate would – obliterate the bastard that had frightened her, soothe her hurts, calm her fears, but he hadn't even told her how he felt about her, and now was definitely not the time. He swallowed, adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"Just tell me what's wrong, Luce" he said, his fingers still curled tensely around the edge of the painted wood of the sliding door.

"I… I'm okay. I just forgot about the coffee, and the warm water is stinging my legs a little. Please just… could you go get my pyjamas, they're under the pillow on my bed."

He felt his anger rising all over again, like bile in the back of his throat, but swallowed it back down, going over to her bed to retrieve the neatly folded sleep shorts and singlet from under her pillow. He picked the pillow up for a moment, scenting her usual calming fragrance, breathing it in like a balm to his heated anger and sighing as he exhaled. He was furious at himself for forgetting that prick had splashed hot coffee on her, especially as burns got worse the longer they were left untreated, and the rage he had felt at the café was still swirling with nowhere outlet.

Even though it was hard, he had to push the anger down and keep a level head. Lucy had a lot more experience at this, being the person who cared and comforted, he was more about action, but that wasn't what she needed right now. He could do this. He would concentrate on caring for her, trying to make her feel better, and hope he didn't fuck it up by saying the wrong things.

He walked over to her chest of drawers and retrieved a clean pair of panties for her and walked back over to the bathroom to wait. The sound of running water stopped, and he rapped his knuckles on the door, before sliding it open just enough to thrust his arm through holding the clean clothes.

"You're gonna let me check those burns, right?" he asked, as the pyjamas and panties were taken out of his hands.

"Yeah, okay", he heard Lucy sigh. He stayed by the door, listening as she towelled herself dry and got dressed, gritting his teeth as he heard a catch in her breath a few times.

The door slid back, and Lucy squeaked as she nearly walked into him, but his gaze had immediately dropped to her lower thighs where the coffee stains on her stockings had been, and he growled at the reddened skin, peppered with tiny blisters, and the dark oval bruises higher up on her leg, like fingerprints too persistent to be washed away.

"Lucy, go sit down. I'll get the first aid kit." He waited for the usual rebuff, that she could look after herself, thank you very much, but she meekly went to sit down on the sofa, her head lowered.

When he returned with the first aid kit, she was sitting very still, feet flat on the floor, back hunched, her face buried in a cushion that she hugged to herself tightly. He could only just make out her muffled words.

"I thought… I thought after a shower, I'd feel better. But I can still feel them on me. His… hands."

Natsu gulped, looking at her helplessly. Maybe he couldn't do this after all. He didn't know what to do, what the right thing to say would be, he was fucking terrible with words. He wanted to hug her again, but he didn't want to do anything that would upset her more. He knelt on the floor in front of her, putting the first aid kit down, reaching his hand out to touch her knee, then drawing it back uncertainly.

"Luce, you know I'm happy to listen to anything you wanna talk about, but did you want me to get someone else? Levy maybe, or Mira?" He rubbed his palms anxiously on his thighs, the fabric of his trousers creasing under his heated grip. "I just… I wanna help, I'd do anything to make you feel better, but I don't know what to do. Tell me what I should do. What would make you feel better?"

Lucy chuckled into the pillow, but it sounded a little more like a sob. "I don't know. When I saw the burns and the br…" her voice broke a little over the word, "uises, I…" She lowered the pillow enough to look into Natsu's anxious eyes. "I want _you_ to stay Natsu. I feel safe with you. I always feel safe with you."

His heart swelled a little at her trust in him, but that still didn't help his anxiety about doing or saying the wrong thing. He sighed and nodded. "I'm gonna have to touch you to put a dressing on those burns Lucy. Is that okay?"

She nodded, putting the sofa cushion aside. She prodded his leg with her foot. "Natsu, I'm still me. What's with the kid glove treatment, huh?"

Natsu looked at her seriously, his hands clenched into fists on his thighs. "That bastard frightened you. I don't wanna frighten you, ever."

Lucy gave him a watery half smile. "Since when have I been frightened of you, big bad dragonslayer? Do your worst, hot shot."

Natsu smiled back. He rummaged around in the first aid kit, disrupting its usual order, then fished out a tube of antibacterial cream. He gently started dabbing cream on the burns, where she had been splashed from the hot coffee in spots from her knees to mid-thigh, being careful of the blisters.

"I dunno Lucy", he said, looking at them with concern, "I think maybe Wendy should take a look at these." He definitely wasn't an expert in first aid, and he never got burned, so he was unsure if he was treating them correctly or how bad they were. Her skin still felt warm, and blisters meant they were bad, didn't it?

"Let's just put a dressing on them for now, please Natsu. I don't think they're too bad." He looked up into her eyes and she gave him a small smile. "Wendy's not feeling well, and it's not like they're life threatening or anything."

He sighed again, but did as she asked, carefully placing a loose dressing on top of each of the burns and wrapping a bandage around each leg to keep them in place.

He reached for the small white jar of arnica cream and dabbed it as softly as he could on the darkening bruises on her upper arm, muscles twitching in his jaw as he clenched his teeth, then moved on to the ones on her upper thigh. After he'd dabbed at those, Lucy grabbed his wrist.

"I… I'll do the rest, o-okay", she said, her voice shaky.

Natsu looked up at her in surprise. "The rest?" he questioned, then looked back down at her leg, trying to see what he might have missed.

And then he noticed, peeking out from just underneath the hem of her tiny sleep shorts, more bruising fingerprints on her inner thigh disappearing up towards the fabric covered area of her crotch.

His eyes shot to hers, and she gamely tried to give him another watery half smile. But then her lips compressed, and the corners of her mouth turned down, her bottom lip trembling.

Natsu slumped back a little. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He had hoped desperately, that perhaps Loke was being his usual flamboyant self, and was over dramatizing the situation, but here was the proof. That fucking bastard.

"Lucy", he said brokenly, his own eyes filling with tears, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too", she whispered. "I had always hoped…" Her eyes shut, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She pushed at it with the heel of her hand, wiping it away with much more force than necessary. Then her other hand rubbed at another tear, and soon she was scrubbing at her face furiously, almost like she was trying to wipe away her own expression.

Natsu blinked his own tears away and grabbed her hands gently, cocooning them between his own warm palms.

"Hey", he said gently. "Be careful."

She turned her eyes towards the floor, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I just feel so ashamed."

She startled, her eyes widening as she heard Natsu's low rumbling growl, a sharp contrast to his previous soft tone. "Don't", he said roughly. "Don't say that. Don't…" He let go of her hands, letting them drop into her lap and leaned forward to cup her cheeks with his palms, his dark green eyes pinning hers.

"You are Lucy Heartfilia, a Fairytail mage. The strongest celestial mage that I have ever seen", he rumbled, his voice quiet but firm. "You are courageous, bold and kind, and always ready to step in and help those who need it. A force to be reckoned with."

His voice softened, and he stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. "You are… beautiful… inside and out. You walk tall, Lucy. You show that bastard that he can't break you. You are _better_ than him. He's nothing but scum on the heel of your boot. You shine so bright sometimes that I…" He swallowed, his voice suddenly gravelly, and dropped his hands away from her cheeks. "I mean, there is no reason for shame, none at all."

Lucy sobbed, but did her best to smile through her tears. He had a sudden memory of last time he had seen her face like this, after her loss to Flare Corona when she had cheated at the Grand Magic Games; had smiled at him through her sobs and said, "I'm all fired up". She hiccuped a little.

"Can I be strong tomorrow?"

"Idiot. You're already strong. You always are. But when you need to, you lean on me okay?"

"Okay." She sniffed, and then he backed away, making space between the on the sofa so she could lean down and pluck a couple of tissues from the box on the coffee table. She blew her nose loudly, and he grinned at her. Since he had finally admitted to himself how much he loved her, he often felt in awe of how beautiful she was, and then she would do things like that, and remind him that she was still his loud and not particularly graceful best friend Lucy.

He watched her blow her nose, hands twitching, one leg bouncing. He knew he had to do something. All these feelings, rage, sadness, empathy and love, were swirling together in his chest like an explosive cocktail, and he wasn't sure what would happen if they didn't get released soon. A sudden thought, a way that he could run and let off steam and still take care of Lucy had him smiling.

"How about I go get us something to eat, Lucy? There's not much in your fridge."

Lucy scowled at him, teary chocolate brown eyes glowering over the top of the tissue. "Yeah, I wonder who's fault that is."

"Sorry", said Natsu with a grin, bouncing to his feet and not looking sorry at all. "I'll get you some of that chicken you like. My treat. I'll be fast okay?"

"Alright", said Lucy, clutching the used tissue in one hand and rubbing her forearm with the other, still sniffling a little. "You promise you won't be long?"

"Promise", he said, jogging over to the window. He paused, balanced in a crouch on the windowsill, and turned to gift her an encouraging grin, then dropped to the ground, running as if his life depended on it.

Twenty minutes later, and he was back, two bags of steaming takeaway clutched in one hand, the mixed aromas making his stomach growl audibly. He easily made the jump up to the windowsill, but the window was shut and locked. He peered in, cupping one hand around his eyes, trying to see where Lucy was. He finally spotted her pacing backwards and forwards in the kitchen, her keys clutched in her white knuckled hand. He tapped on the glass and she jumped, nearly dropping her keys, and quickly came over to the window to unlock it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, dropping in through the window. "The window was locked."

"Yep, just peachy", she smiled, but it was another of those empty false smiles that Natsu had become all too familiar with this week. He hated them.

He put the bags down on the table and eyed her carefully.

"Okay Luce, spill. What's going on in that weird head a yours?"

"Well", she began, twisting her keys in her hands, "I was just thinking. I don't know much about that guy, but he seemed fairly high powered. Expensive suit, lots of rings, real gold – one of them had a seal on it, so he's probably old money, like the people my father used to mix with."

She started pacing backwards and forwards in front of Natsu. "Those sorts of people, they don't take no for an answer. What if he goes after Erza, after she embarrassed him in front of all those people at the cafe? What if he goes after the guild to take revenge? What if… what if he comes here?"

Her eyes widened, and she clasped her arms around her body, hugging herself tightly. "I mean it's pretty easy to find out where I live right? It's not like I make a secret of it." She began breathing faster, as her voice sped up and rose in pitch. "Anyone could follow me and know exactly where this apartment is. For all I know he already does know. And he'd probably send someone, a mage, maybe more than one. Those sorts of people don't do their own dirty work. It could be Phantom Lord all over again and it would be all my…"

Natsu placed his hand over her mouth, stopping the torrent of words. He could hear her heart rate accelerating, anxiety pouring off her like a shaken, gushing bottle of fizzy drink that Mira served at the guild.

"Lucy, breathe." He took his hand away and said gently, "That's a lotta thinkin' for the short time I was gone."

Lucy chuckled without humour. "Well, you know, overly dramatic Lucy, that's me." She bit her lip, worrying the soft flesh with her teeth.

Natsu placed his hands on her shoulders and steered her backwards until she was in front of the sofa, then pushed downwards with gentle but firm pressure until she dropped onto the cushions.

"Time to eat", he said firmly. "Talking after." He went to the kitchen and got two glasses of water, then pushed a container of chicken and vegetable stir fry with paper napkins and bamboo chopsticks towards her. "Eat Luce." He piled the other boxes up in front of himself, and began to attack them methodically, eating through each one without stopping.

It was only when he'd got three quarters of the way through the pile of food in front of him that he noticed that Lucy wasn't actually eating, just moving the food around with the chopsticks listlessly. She tried to hide a yawn behind the back of her hand, but it was easy to see how exhausted she was.

"You want me to put that in the fridge for you to finish tomorrow Luce?"

Lucy sighed. "I'm sorry Natsu, I really am. I appreciate you going to get this for me, but I'm just not hungry at the moment." She put the chopsticks down on the table and rubbed her eyes.

Natsu started packing up all the food, putting lids on the containers.

"Hey, you don't have to stop eating just because I'm not", she began.

"Nah, it's okay. I'll save it for tomorrow. You look like you're ready to crash Luce. Maybe you should go to bed."

He picked up the containers and carried them into the kitchen, opening the fridge door and shoving them in haphazardly. When he closed it, Lucy was standing there, looking at him anxiously.

"You're not going to leave, are you Natsu?" she asked, twisting her fingers together.

He smiled at her cheerfully, even though it hurt him to see the anxious expression on her face. He would do anything to wipe it away.

"Not if you want me to stay. Happy will probably come looking for me soon though. Is it okay if he stays too? Him an' me could camp out on the sofa and…"

"Would it be weird…"

"I expect weirdness from you, ya weirdo!" he grinned, and then he chuckled when she made a "hmmph" noise and punched him in the arm.

"Rude!" Her bottom lip jutted out in an adorable pout. "What I was going to say, before I was interrupted, was… could… could you… um…"

"Hey, just spit it out Lucy, I'm not gettin' any younger over here!"

"Forget it", she grunted, and turned to stomp away, but he caught her by the arm.

"I'm sorry, I was just tryin' ta cheer ya up. Please, I'll be good."

She looked at him uncertainly. "I'm just feeling a little…" She clenched one hand into a fist and pushed it against her heart. "I can't… I'm so tired, but my thoughts… could you maybe lay next to me while I go to sleep and do that purring thing again?" The last part came out in a rush, as her cheeks flushed red, and she looked away from him. "I was frightened before, and it helped."

Natsu's cheeks flushed also, but he smiled, hiding how fast his own heart was beating, how much her request had affected him. "Gladly, Luce."

He followed her across to the bed, and she slid underneath the covers.

"Is it okay if I leave the window open for Happy? I don't want him ta wake ya up tappin' on the glass." Lucy's eyes widened, and he added, "I'll stay right next to the window okay? Nothin's gonna get past me Lucy, I promise."

She nodded, and lay down on her side facing him, her head resting on the pillow, golden locks bright against the white fabric. Natsu slid the window open just enough for Happy to be able to squeeze in.

He kicked off his shoes and took off his scarf, vest and socks, leaving them in a messy pile on the floor, and lay down next to her on top of the covers, their heads sharing the pillow.

He looked into her dark eyes and she smiled, the first real smile he'd seen for a while. She scooted over towards him, tucking herself in tightly against his warmth, which immediately triggered a rumbling vibration in his chest. After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped her up in his strong arms, tucking her head under his chin, his purr sending both of them off to sleep.

Natsu watched as Lucy emerged from the bathroom dressed for work, her face determined. She was wearing some of her own clothes, black ballet flats and full-length opaque stockings, a circle skirt that came down just past mid-thigh, and a white button-down shirt with a lace trimmed collar and elbow length sleeves. She tugged on one golden pigtail, tightening it, and made sure the white maid's cap was secured in her hair.

"Are you sure you want to go into work today Lucy?" he asked carefully. She had slept restlessly and she still looked tired. The dark circles under her eyes were hidden by makeup, but he knew they were there. Happy hadn't turned up during the night, but he wasn't overly concerned, thinking he'd probably stayed with Erza or gone to Wendy's. Happy might still be young in some ways, but he was an exceed, and like the cats he resembled, he always found a soft place to land on his feet.

A sudden knock on the door had them both tensing.

"Relax Luce", said Natsu, trying to quell the anxiety he could feel coming from her direction, "I doubt a mob of attackers is gonna turn up and knock on the door."

"How do you know?" muttered Lucy, but she stayed behind him as he walked over to answer it, her keys clenched in her fist at the ready.

Natsu swung the door open, and was surprised to see Erza, Gray, Wendy, Charle and Happy there.

"Hi", chirped Wendy, waving a little, Charle and Happy perched on each shoulder.

"Good morning", said Erza pleasantly. "I'm glad to see you are both up and looking ready for work."

"At least Lucy does", sneered Gray, "Flamedork here looks like he slept in his uniform."

"Oi, can it, ice prick", retorted Natsu, heating his palms and running them quickly over his vest, shirt and pants, getting rid of most of the creases.

"Why are you guys here so early?" asked Lucy a little uncertainly. It was still a little over an hour before they needed to start work, and it was only a ten-minute walk from her place. After their first day, they'd agreed to meet at the café fifteen minutes before their shared shift began, rather than meeting at the guild and going together.

"I thought it might be pleasant to get something to eat at the café as a late breakfast before we started our shift", answered Erza.

Happy sniggered behind his hand. "Yeah, Erza doesn't think she'll be able to manage a whole shift without eating cheesecake first." He squawked a little and flew out of range as Erza's fist shot out. Charle groaned and the others grinned at Happy's reckless quip, everyone except Lucy.

Natsu watched as she bit her bottom lip a little before answering hesitantly.

"Oh. Um, okay."

Natsu kept a worried eye on Lucy as they walked towards the cafe. She still looked tense and kept continually tugging at the hem of her skirt, as if trying to make it longer, and she kept glancing behind them nervously. This behaviour really wasn't like her, and he felt on edge, and ready to punch something.

Her legs were still bandaged under her opaque stockings. Some of the blisters had burst overnight, and she had let him apply some more cream to them before putting on clean dressings. The bruise on her upper arm had turned a deep ugly purple, a hand print clearly evident. He hadn't even realised he'd been growling as he brushed over her skin with the arnica until Lucy had touched his face. He'd swallowed it down, trying to stay silent until she headed into the bathroom to get dressed.

As they got closer to the café, Natsu could hear Lucy's heartbeat accelerating. He reached out as nonchalantly as he could and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers, pushing a little warmth into his hand, and rumbled a small purr, as loudly as he dared. He saw Happy look back to them as he heard it, a teasing look on his face, ready to say his usual catchphrase no doubt, but stopped when Natsu shook his head.

He leaned in close, saying softly, "Ya know Luce, no one would think less of ya if you needed one more day off. I could take you back home…" her hand clenched his, and he quickly changed tack, "or you could wait for me in the kitchen out back, and I could check in with you when I'm on my break."

Lucy shook her head. "No", she said determinedly. "I'm better than him, remember. I can't let him win. And if I can't go back in today, he wins." Natsu was about to say that it didn't mean anything of the sort, but the soft look she gave him stopped him in his tracks.

"You give me courage, do you know that Natsu? Sometimes I'm not very brave. When we're fighting, sometimes my hand shakes, even with all the help I have from my spirits. But seeing you there, fighting alongside me, makes me brave."

Natsu snorted. "Luce, feeling afraid when you're fighting doesn't mean that your not brave, it means that your smart. Just 'cause I throw myself at things like a dumbass doesn't mean I'm brave." He took in a deep breath and squeezed her hand gently. "I want… I want to protect you, always. And knowin' you're there with me makes me fight that much harder." They gazed at each other, each holding their breath, afraid to spoil the moment.

"Oi, hurry up you two." They looked up to see the others waiting for them at the café, Gray calling out through cupped hands, and they let go of each other's hands awkwardly and speeded up their steps, both blushing a little. The rest of their team had already headed into the café to see if Mira could find them a table, Erza marching in the lead.

Lucy paused at the entrance, her fists clenched. She tugged at her skirt again, then took a deep breath and stepped in, walking over towards the rest of the team.

"That's my girl, Luce", said Natsu under his breath, a proud smile splitting his face. He watched the determined swing of her hips, and the defiant tilt of her chin. "Look at you shine, baby girl. Shinin' like the star you are."


	3. Third Course

Lucy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as she walked into the café, quenching her desire to turn around and run the other way. She could do this. She pushed her chin out defiantly and walked forward, forcing herself to concentrate on the members of her team already seated in a booth near the kitchen, with Lisanna patiently waiting to take their order. Happy was flirting with a scowling Charle, badly, while Wendy giggled at his efforts. Erza was perusing the desserts menu with a fanatical gleam in her eye. Gray turned his exasperated gaze from Erza to Lucy, smiling at her as she approached, and she did her best to return it, not her best effort, but an effort, nonetheless.

All morning, her mind had been seesawing. She would try to convince herself that what had happened wasn't so bad - she wasn't even really injured comparative to other jobs she'd been on with her team, so she should just shrug it off, finish the mission. Then the feeling of sheer panic and revulsion she had felt when she had been groped so intimately would roll over her, and the cyclical thoughts would begin again. She was filled with grief that he had been the first that had touched her that way, had left bruises as marks of passion unasked for on her skin.

She had been brought up to believe that her allowing that sort of touch for the first time was a gift to give someone that she truly loved and desired, and to have that choice taken away by a man without her consent… there could never be another first time. She felt tainted, broken… her stomach roiled again in protest.

The only bright spot in the darkness of her thoughts was Natsu. His warmth, his caring. She was starting to dare dream that maybe he liked her more than as just a friend. They were best friends, yes, were as close as any two people could be, but the romantic love she carried for him, hidden and squashed into the recesses of her heart, was beginning to unfurl tiny tendrils of hope. She recalled with joy the way he held her last night, the way his rumbling purr had surrounded her and kept the dark thoughts away. It had almost felt like she belonged in his arms, and she'd felt a sense of calm and completeness that she couldn't ever remember feeling before.

She tensed suddenly when loud male laughter erupted at a table nearby, then felt the heat of Natsu's comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's not them", he said quietly. "Nothin' bad's gonna happen Luce, I promise."

She swallowed and nodded. "Okay." They both slid into the booth seat, Natsu's warm thigh solid against hers. Gray was staring irritably at Erza as she continued looking at the different dessert options while Lisanna waited, pen and notebook at the ready.

"I don't see why you've got to even look at the menu Erza. You know exactly what's on it, you've been taking orders all week! Just hurry up and make a decision." He huffed under his breath, "We all know you're gonna choose the strawberry one anyway."

Erza targeted him with a steely eye, the other hidden behind her long scarlet fringe. "I will not be rushed Gray", she stated, enunciating her words carefully. She returned her gaze to the menu, and Gray sighed, throwing his hands up in the air to signify his exasperated surrender, as Wendy giggled at the pair's antics.

Lisanna grinned cheerfully, not bothered by the delay. "Do the rest of you know what you want, while Erza's still choosing?

"Fish!" chirped Happy. Charle glared at him.

Lisanna laughed. "I'll do my best Happy. Natsu?"

Natsu grinned. "The Natsu special of course!" Erza looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"You do realise that we're starting work soon Natsu. That's a large amount of… never mind", she shrugged, as if suddenly remembering Natsu's capacity for eating.

"Lucy?" inquired Lisanna, looking at her expectantly, her pen poised over the order pad.

"Um, just green tea please", she said. Her stomach was tied up in knots, there was no way she was going to be able to eat anything. Erza looked at her over the top of her menu and opened her mouth as if she were about to comment, but then shut it again. Lisanna turned to Erza.

"I believe I'll have the 'Titania's Delight', she said, pointing to the strawberry themed dessert on the menu.

"Big surprise", Natsu and Gray muttered at the same moment, and then glared at each other, both making an annoyed 'tch' noise and turning their heads.

Lisanna rattled off their orders. "So that's the Peaches and Cream sundae for Wendy and Charle to share, an Ice Make Sorbet and black coffee for Gray, a Natsu Special for Natsu, a green tea for Lucy, and a Titania's Delight for Erza. I'll see what I can do about the fish, Happy, but no promises, okay? Be back soon."

Lucy looked around the café furtively. There seemed to be different groups of people today, teenagers hanging out together, couples gazing at each other lovingly, a couple of families with small children. No businessmen. No suits. Her fists unclenched a little in her lap. It was going to be okay, just like Natsu said. Nothing bad was going to happen. Just a nice, normal day.

A loud crash of plates near them had Lucy twisting in her seat defensively, clutching her keys, then sighing in relief as she realised it was just Elfman stacking dirtied plates on his trolley a little forcefully. For a second, the sound had dropped her back in that moment when she had been pushed to the floor, cups shattering around her, right after he had… she dropped her head down so her face was hidden by her long fringe and shut her eyes tightly, desperately pushing the image out of her mind.

A warm hand found hers under the table, and she grabbed on to it like a lifeline.

'Nothing bad's going to happen, nothing bad's going to happen' she chanted to herself like a mantra, willing her heart to calm, her breathing to slow down. Natsu's fingers entwined with hers, and his thumb rubbed small warm circles on her wrist. She breathed out and raised her head, feeling calmer. Happy was looking at her quizzically.

"Are you okay Lushee?" His question turned the gaze of everyone else at the table towards her, and she quickly plastered a smile on her face.

"Sure Happy", she said in a bright voice. "Just a little tired." She mimed a yawn, covering her mouth with her other hand.

"Did Natsu's snoring keep you awake? He's so loud sometimes that it makes our windows rattle", teased Happy.

"Oi", began Natsu belligerently, but then paused as he heard Lucy's small giggle. Happy gave him a quick wink and Natsu grinned his thanks back at him.

Lucy did her best to relax, leaning back into the pale blue leather of the seat behind her, listening to her team banter back and forth, and the gentle murmur of the café noise behind them. Natsu's hand was warm in hers, the comforting heat calming her, giving her something to concentrate on other than her spiralling thoughts. He only let go of her hand when Lisanna arrived with the food, giving her fingers one final squeeze before pulling away.

Lisanna placed all the food in front of them with a ready smile, then headed off to look after her other tables.

Lucy wrapped her fingers around her cup of hot tea, relishing the warmth after having to let go of Natsu's hand, taking a sip, the bittersweet aftertaste suiting her mood.

"Hey Luce, I know you said you're not hungry, but you're welcome to have some of my food if you like", said Natsu, pushing his plate a little closer to her and beginning to tuck into the veritable mountain of food in front of him. The entire table turned their heads to him, mouths open wide in surprise.

"Wha?" he said indistinctly, his mouth full of burger, red hot sauce running down his chin.

"The last time I tried to take food off your plate you punched me in the mouth" snorted Gray.

Natsu swallowed. "Yeah _, take_ being the operative word, icicle dick. I didn't offer _you_ any a my food. I offered it to _Lucy_. If she wants some, she can have some. It's no big deal." He shrugged and went back to shovelling food into his mouth. Gray rolled his eyes and dug his spoon back into his blue sorbet.

"Thank you Natsu", smiled Lucy, genuinely touched.

It was true though, he never shared food. Happy was probably the only one able to get away with stealing food off his plate, and he would still grumble about it. Because it was such a heartfelt gesture coming from Natsu, she forced herself to take a couple of potato wedges, finally finding two off to one side that weren't covered in jalapeno sauce and chilli flakes. She munched on one, taking small bites until she finished it, and Natsu smiled and nodded approvingly, before going back to stuffing his face.

Lisanna walked past, her tray full of drinks. "Hey Lucy", she said "Master's out in the storeroom. He asked if you could come talk to him before you start your shift."

Suddenly the second fried potato wedge tasted like ash in Lucy's mouth, and she put it down on the saucer next to her half-finished cup of tea. She stood slowly, her gaze directed downwards.

"I'd better go, don't want to keep Master waiting", she said in a quiet voice. She was surprised by a soft touch on her hand.

"Do you want me to come with you Lucy?" asked Natsu quietly.

"Natsu, you're still eating. You don't have to…", began Lucy.

"Do you want me to come with you?" repeated Natsu. When she nodded, a tiny, barely audible "yes" passing her lips, he scrubbed at his mouth with his napkin and stood up.

"Don't let 'em chuck out any of my food, numb nuts", he directed at Gray, before following Lucy out towards the storeroom.

Gray watched them leave a little apprehensively, helping himself to a wedge from Natsu's plate.

"Erza, do you think you should have gone with Lucy instead?" he said quietly. "I know Natsu loves her, but let's face it, he's an oblivious idiot. Maybe Lucy needs a female friend with her at the moment after what happened yesterday?" He crunched down the potato wedge, then helped himself to another one.

Erza had her eyes closed, savouring her final mouthful of cheesecake. "I believe Lucy would have asked me had she wanted me to go instead of Natsu", she said. "He is doing splendidly, much better than I would have expected." She sighed. "Even though yesterday's events were traumatising for Lucy and Natsu, I believe this will finally open their eyes to how each feels about the other."

Gray sighed but nodded in agreement, coughing a little as he crunched on a wedge with too much chilli.

"It's about time", added Happy. "It's not like I haven't been letting them know they liked each other right from the very beginning." He munched contentedly on the pile of crumbed fish fingers that Lisanna had brought him from the children's menu. It wasn't quite what he was hoping for, but in a pinch, it would do.

Wendy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Erza had come by early this morning to let her and Charle know what had happened to Lucy, and it had horrified her. "I wish I could help heal her, make her feel better", she whispered to Charle. Charle patted her arm sympathetically.

"I know you do child, but there are some wounds that can only be healed with time. Time and love."

Lucy hesitated before knocking on the door of the storeroom, Natsu right behind her.

"It'll be okay Luce", he murmured comfortingly. "It's just Gramps."

"I know, but he probably wants to talk about yesterday", she said nervously, rubbing her upper arm with her opposite hand.

"Gramps won't push you", said Natsu. "He probably just wants to make sure you're okay."

Lucy sighed and knocked on the door, before opening it. "Let's get this over with."

Makarov was sitting down, perched on a pile of boxes at the back of the room, lit by a single naked lightbulb overhead. Stacked around him were various boxes of supplies for the café, and hooks holding bags and jackets belonging to café employees covered the wall behind him. But he wasn't the only one in the room.

Off to one side, slightly behind Makarov stood a tall woman, blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail, garbed in the white jacket and pants worn by members of Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit. Natsu was immediately on the defensive, stepping in front of Lucy and shielding her from the council woman's gaze.

"What are ya playin' at Gramps! Lucy ain't done anything wrong, none of us have!"

Makarov looked at Natsu with a grave expression. "I'm not suggesting anything of the sort Natsu. And I don't remember asking for your prescence."

Lucy stepped forward and laced her fingers into Natsu's. "Master, I asked him to come with me. I… I want him to be here."

Makarov turned his gaze to Lucy, gazing with surprise at their tightly clasped hands, and smiled for a moment. Then he sighed. "Lucy my child, I am so very sorry. Loke came to me and explained what happened yesterday."

Lucy bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry too", she said. As Natsu began to sputter beside her, she said softly, "Natsu, he and his friends made me feel uncomfortable all week, but I decided to ignore it, even when you advised me to talk to Gramps about it. It was my decision to let their behaviour slide. Maybe if I had been more forceful in the beginning…"

The woman sitting in the corner spoke. "Ms Heartfilia, it's not your job to police the good behaviour of others. You were completing your assigned job more than adequately from what I hear. The fault was entirely that of the customer who touched you inappropriately. A person is never, under any circumstances, responsible for somebody choosing to assault them."

Makarov gestured to the council woman. "This is Astrid Ferguson, a long-time friend of mine, and a member of the Custody Enforcement Unit. She's off duty, here in a non-official capacity today, but I wanted her to speak with you Lucy, about whether you wanted to press charges."

"Press charges?" repeated Lucy hesitantly.

Astrid nodded. "From what I understand, that man committed a sexual assault. You have the right to press charges against him, and if you choose to do so, he will be charged and tried by the Magic Council."

"I'm pretty sure he wasn't a mage", interrupted Natsu.

"That is true. But he committed an offence against a mage. We therefore have the right to charge him, and if he's found guilty, he will be turned over to the crown for sentencing."

"What would happen, if I decided to do it?", asked Lucy softly.

"You would need to come to the Magic Council branch office here in Magnolia, and you would be assigned an investigator, female if you prefer, who would be involved in the whole process, all the way up to court proceedings" explained Astrid in a calm steady voice. "You would need to make a statement, remembering and recounting as best possible, all the details of the assault." Lucy began trembling, and Natsu stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and folding his body around hers as much as possible, tucking her head under his chin.

"You can have a support person with you, but they cannot assist with the interview itself, and they should also not be a potential witness or otherwise involved in the investigation", continued Astrid. "We would also request that a forensic medical examination be undertaken, which may involve swabs and other physical evidence being collected." Lucy shuddered, but nodded, showing she understood. "Family and friends may also be interviewed and asked to give evidence if they are aware of what occurred."

Lucy swallowed, closing her eyes. "I just want to forget that it ever happened", she said, trying to take comfort from Natsu's warmth behind her. "But I also don't want what he did to happen to anyone else."

She opened her eyes, looking directly at Makarov. "Master, I don't know his name, but from the way he was dressed, and the rings he was wearing, I'm assuming that he is wealthy and powerful, or works for someone wealthy and powerful." She swallowed again. "He reminds me of colleagues of my late father. You remember as well as I do what happened with Phantom Lord. I don't want to make things difficult for the guild. What if he decided to retaliate, if I pressed charges? What if he threatened other members of the guild?"

Makarov sighed. "Lucy, I already know who he is. He's a nasty piece of work, as corrupt as they come, and I don't doubt there will be some sort of backlash from this." He jumped down from the box, walking over to her and taking her hand in his, looking imposing despite his diminutive height as his gaze held hers. "But, my dear, that is not your concern. If you want to press charges, you will have the full backing of Fairytail."

"What if he comes after Lucy Gramps", Natsu rumbled, hugging Lucy tighter. His hunter green eyes flashed angrily. "I ain't gonna let anyone touch her again, not after yesterday."

Astrid replied to Natsu's question before Makarov had even a chance to open his mouth. "Natsu Dragneel, as a mage you are allowed to use reasonable force to restrain someone that has intent to inflict bodily harm against another", she said sternly. "But, should you use unnecessary violence, he would be able to bring charges against you."

Her tone softened as she regarded the way he had his arms wrapped around Lucy, and the way Lucy had turned her face, so her cheek rested over his heart. "If you were charged and imprisoned, who would protect Lucy then?"

"Wait, how do you know who I am?", asked Natsu, startled. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Everyone at the council knows who you are Mr. Dragneel."

Natsu grinned a toothy grin, as Makarov sighed, dragging one hand down his face wearily, and Lucy elbowed him in the ribs.

"I don't think she meant it in a good way Natsu", she whispered with a slight smile.

"I know", he cackled. "That's what makes it so good."

Lucy turned in Natsu's arms to face Astrid. "Would it be alright if I spoke to our team about this first? If there's a possibility they might be questioned, I want to discuss it with them."

Astrid nodded. "There's no time limit on reporting an assault. But remember, the longer you leave it, the less physical evidence we will be able to gather. The more evidence we have, the stronger your case." Lucy nodded.

"Well, my shift at the garrison begins soon, so I need to go", said Astrid, swatting the dust off the back of her white pants where she had been leaning on the boxes. "Just one last thing Lucy. I can see that this has affected you deeply. I've worked on cases with many mages, both women and men who have been sexually assaulted, and most have said that reporting the event and going through with the charges has given them back a feeling of control against the person who hurt them."

She smiled at Lucy and nodded at Makarov and Natsu before walking out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

Makarov squeezed Lucy's hand. "Are you sure you feel up to working today my dear?"

"Yes", said Lucy firmly. "I want to be busy."

"Very well", sighed Makarov, letting go of her hand. "Natsu, I hope you took note of what Astrid said."

Natsu growled. "I still think if I went and broke his legs, he wouldn't be able to come after Lucy at all."

"Idiot", yelled Makarov, increasing his hand size to swat Natsu on the back of the head. "He's not a mage. You can't go around injuring civilians, just because it would make you feel better and you think it's justifiable. He'd just get you put behind bars and send someone else."

Natsu scowled, removing one hand from around Lucy's waist to rub the back of his head.

"You can't settle it with your fists this time, brat", continued Makarov in a more gentle tone. "I know you feel like you need to avenge Lucy, but you need to learn some self-control. You are allowed to protect Lucy, make sure she comes to no harm, but you are not allowed to go looking for trouble. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah", muttered Natsu.

"Do I make myself clear?" repeated Makarov, his amplified voice echoing around the small room.

"Aye Sir!" snapped Natsu, his face mutinous.

"All right, it's nearly time for you two to begin work, so I'll leave you to it. If you need anything at all, you know where to find me Lucy. My door is always open", said Makarov, waving a hand at them and stepping out the door.

Natsu slid his arms away from Lucy's waist. "I guess we better get going too, huh Luce?" He turned towards the door, but Lucy's featherlight touch on his wrist made him pause. Suddenly her arms were wrapped around his neck, squeezing him tightly, her face burrowed into his chest.

"Wha?" said Natsu, taking a step back, his arms out to his sides, quickly regaining his balance after the force of Lucy's unexpected embrace.

"Thank you Natsu", said Lucy, her voice muffled against his chest. "I couldn't get through this without you."

"Idiot", said Natsu, returning the hug gently, his arms squeezing across the middle of her back, "I told you last night, you're stronger than you think ya are. But you don't have ta do things alone. I'll always be there for ya Lucy."

"Always?" whispered Lucy, looking up into his dark eyes, her fingers twisting into the soft pink hair on the back of Natsu's neck, tugging gently.

"Always", replied Natsu huskily.

Lucy trailed her fingers lightly down his neck and over his shoulders and chest until they both rested on the soft fabric of his white shirt, over his heart. She felt Natsu shiver at her touch, his eyes closing, mouth slightly open as he exhaled a shaky breath. The soft expression on his face and the rapid pulse of his heart under her fingertips gave her the courage she needed to continue.

"Natsu", she said softly, "there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time now, but I've always been too afraid. I don't think I'm afraid anymore." She stood up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his in a tentative kiss.

She watched Natsu's eyes open in surprise as she pulled back, her expression anxious. He leaned forward, chasing her retreating lips with his own, his arms moving upwards to cup her jaw gently in his hands, tilting her head. His lips touched hers softly, pursing gently. Her eyes drifted closed and she sighed in relief. She felt Natsu smile against her lips, the corners of his mouth quirking up against hers.

"Lucy", he sighed pulling back, his eyes locked on hers, his thumb rubbing gently against the soft skin of her cheek, "I've wanted to kiss you for so long, but I just wasn't sure…"

He dipped his head and kissed her again, his surprisingly soft lips slanting across hers. His lips were warm, and the soft noises their lips made against one another as they kissed each other gently had Lucy's pulse racing. She'd dreamt of this for so long, she couldn't help her soft breathy moans as the kiss became a little more heated. The rough rumbling noise Natsu was making in the back of his throat as he kissed her made her heart pound. With a sigh, he pulled his lips away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"We gotta stop", he said, panting a little. Lucy pulled back uncertainly.

"You weren't enjoying that?" she questioned hesitantly. Her cheeks heated. Maybe she had this whole situation wrong. Maybe she was seeing things that weren't really there. She started to step backwards, but Natsu pulled her to him tightly, his hot breath ghosting her ear.

"Luce, I was startin' to enjoy it a little _too_ much", he chuckled. "I gotta settle things down before I go out there in front of other people."

"Oh", said Lucy, her face flushing. She buried her hot cheeks in Natsu's chest, rubbing her face backwards and forwards trying to hide her mixture of desire and embarrassment. Natsu growled.

"Lucy, that ain't exactly helpin'."

Lucy pulled back a little so she could look up into his face. "You like it when I do that?"

"Fuck yeah", said Natsu, his dark eyes glittering. "You're rubbing your scent all over me. Shit, now I'm gonna have a boner for this whole goddamned shift."

Lucy stepped away from him, her cheeks still pink, twisting her fingers behind her back shyly. "I like the way you smell too", she said. "It's sort of dark and smoky. It's comforting, but at the same time…" she blushed even more, "it makes me feel a little fired up if you know what I mean."

"Gods Luce, helpin' even less", growled Natsu, rubbing his face with both hands. He unwound his scarf and gently arranged it around her neck, tucking the ends so they draped down her back. He grinned at her, a teasing glint in his eye. "Now we're even. If I've gotta smell you all day, you gotta smell me."

Lucy pushed the soft scaled scarf against her nose, closing her eyes and breathing in. Not surprisingly, his scarf smelt so much like him, because he rarely took it off. It was calming, and with his smell close to her she felt safe, protected.

Natsu cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch. "My Lucy", he breathed, and then looked at her hesitantly. " _Are_ you my Lucy?"

Lucy looked back at him, her eyes full of happy tears. "If you want me to be", she said tremulously.

"Oh, I want", said Natsu, his voice shaking with emotion. "I want you to be mine, just like I want to be yours Luce." He kissed her forehead tenderly. "My Luce, my star, shinin' so bright she puts the real stars to shame."

A gentle tap on the door had them both turning in surprise.

"Uh, guys?", Wendy squeaked on the other side. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but we're starting our shift in five minutes, and Erza told me to come get you." Lucy could hear the embarrassment practically dripping from the young teen's voice.

"Thanks Wendy", hollered Natsu, "We'll be there in a moment, okay?" He sighed, dropping his forehead to hers and resting it there for a moment, and Lucy understood. She wanted this moment to go on forever too.

"Are ya ready Luce?", he asked, pulling away with a grin and holding out his hand to her.

"Ready my dragon", she smiled, taking his hand and entwining their fingers. She giggled at the heated look that Natsu gave her.

"Fuck Lucy, if ya want me to self-combust, you're goin' the right way about it", he muttered, squeezing her fingers. "C'mon, lets get this over with."

Lucy steeled herself, expecting the rest of the team to tease them as they emerged from the storeroom, her fingers entwined with Natsu's, her wearing his scarf, their cheeks blazing a matching shade of pink. Like always, their team handled things in their own way.

Erza, Wendy and Charle offered gentle smiles and murmurs of congratulations, Erza's cheeks almost as pink as theirs.

Grey gave her a furtive thumbs up when Natsu's back was turned for a moment, and then punched him on the arm.

"What was that for, ice freak", grumbled Natsu.

"For taking so long to tell her how you felt", said Gray calmly. Happy giggled behind his paws.

"Yeah Natsu, I've been telling you that she liked you for years. It takes you forever to take a hint", he teased. Natsu muttered under his breath but didn't contradict Happy.

Erza clapped her hands together. "Okay team, time to get to work!" With one last squeeze, Natsu let go of Lucy's hand, and she smiled at him and picked up her order pad and pen, ready to begin.

Natsu's leg jiggled in frustration as he and Erza sat on the hard chairs outside the interview room, waiting for Lucy to finish giving her statement. They'd come straight after their shift at work, the team fully supportive of Lucy's decision to press charges. She'd been in there for nearly an hour already, and he was almost at his limit. He'd wanted to be in there with her, but Lucy had reminded him that as a witness, he needed to give his own statement.

"Natsu, your leg movement is a little annoying", said Erza calmly. Suddenly his leg stopped bouncing and Erza sighed in relief, but then took in his sudden rigid posture, and the low growl rumbling from his chest.

"She's cryin' Erza", he said brusquely, his white knuckled fists resting on his thighs.

"How do you know?" Erza said, believing him, but surprised, nonetheless. "There's meant to be a magic barrier around that room that stops all sound escaping."

"Doesn't stop smell escaping", rejoindered Natsu bitterly. "I can smell her tears. And I can smell her sweat. She's freaking out Erza. Fuck, I hate this!" He stood up and began pacing backwards and forwards in front of Erza, fists clenched, heat haze shimmering around his body. Every instinct was telling him to break down that door and save her. He knew she wasn't in any physical danger, but his heart ached at the thought of her in there by herself with no one to comfort her when she was frightened.

"Natsu, I know you're upset", cautioned Erza, "but you're going to have to lower your body temperature. You don't want to accidentally set off the sprinkler system."

"She should have someone in there with her she trusts Erza, not two strangers", he muttered, continuing to pace.

"I was a little surprised she didn't ask Levy to come", agreed Erza.

"I suggested that. She didn't want Levy to get upset", growled Natsu. He slumped back down on the seat next to Erza. "Levy would'na cared, she would' a been glad to be here for her. But you know Luce, she's always worryin' about how other people feel. And I think…"

"You think?" asked Erza gently.

He swallowed. "I think she still feels ashamed Erza. I think she didn't want Levy to hear exactly what happened because a part of her thinks she's to blame. Even though I told her that she didn't do anything wrong, I don't think she really believes it."

"Then keep telling her", replied Erza. "We'll all keep telling her, until she does believe it."

She hesitated, as if trying to decide something, colour in her cheeks rising, then said, "Natsu, I know you and Lucy have only just become a couple, and this probably isn't my place to say, but I think that until Lucy is stronger, perhaps you should…"

"We've just kissed Erza", Natsu growled. "Just kissed, and that's all that's gonna happen until Lucy tells me otherwise."

"Right. Good. I'm glad", said Erza quickly, looking away from Natsu and up to the ceiling as her cheeks blazed. After a minute, she lowered her gaze back to him. "Can I just say though, I'm very proud of the way you are looking after Lucy at the moment. It's a very pleasing thing to see."

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I just… I wanna be near her. I wanna look after her. I wanna do things for her, keep her safe."

"Sounds like love to me", smiled Erza. "I'm happy for you both Natsu, I truly am."

The door to the interview room opened and Lucy emerged. Her face was red, eyes swollen from crying, and Natsu's heart nearly broke at the sight of her. In two strides he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her, stroking her hair, his chest rumbling with calming purrs as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Erza's usual strong expression had fallen at seeing Lucy so upset, but she smiled, blinking away tears at seeing Natsu so attentive. She silently stood and walked towards the interview room as Astrid and another female officer stepped aside to let her in.

Natsu walked Lucy over to the chairs and pulled her onto his lap as he sat down, rocking her gently, continuing to stroke her hair. After a few minutes Lucy calmed, wiping her eyes on the back of her hands. Natsu kissed the remainder of the tears away.

"I was doing pretty well at first" said Lucy shakily. "I told them how he had been looking at me all week, and all the things he said, and what… what happened. I answered all their questions. And then I had to strip down for them to take photos. I didn't l-like that much, but it was still okay. And… and then they had to take the swab and I… I panicked Natsu."

"I know", he said grimly, still stroking her hair. "I was so close to busting down that door. If Erza hadn't been here, I'm pretty sure I would have."

"I still let them do it, but I was so frightened." Fat tears ran down her cheeks. "Natsu, I…" She took a deep breath. "I want us to have a real relationship. When you kissed me today, it felt so good, and I want _more_ than that. I want that so much. But what if I…", she bit her bottom lip hard, teeth bruising the tender flesh.

Natsu placed his thumb against her bottom lip, gently pulling it away from her teeth. "I want that too", he said, rubbing his thumb gently against her chin. "But right now Luce, whatever you're able to give me is more than enough".

Tears still rolled down Lucy's cheeks. "But what if you get tired of waiting?" she hiccupped.

Natsu smiled at her as he swiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Don't be stupid. I would wait forever for you, baby girl. I hope I don't have to", he teased with a grin, "but I would." He pushed her fringe away from her forehead and kissed it tenderly. "Just let me look after you and show you how much I love you. For now, that's enough."

"You love me?" squeaked Lucy.

"I love you, Lucy Heartfilia", grinned Natsu. Lucy threw her arms around his neck.

"Natsu, I love you too!" she sobbed.

"You don't sound very happy about it", teased Natsu, trying to ease her back so he could look at her face, but she resisted, burying her face in his neck, so he resigned himself to stroking her hair again and purring his contentment.

He felt like his heart would burst with joy. Lucy loved him. She loved him. They just had to get this stupid court case over with, and then their lives could go back to normal. Better than normal. He breathed in her smell, letting the scent of her cherry blossom shampoo and conditioner chase away the acrid smell of her tears. So much better than normal, with his Lucy by his side.


	4. Fourth Course

_Guys, I'm so sorry. I accidentally posted an earlier draft of this chapter, so this has now been UPDATED. Hope you're enjoying the story. I'm writing the next chapter right now!_

* * *

Natsu made a face, wrinkling his nose and sticking out his tongue in disgust as he scraped leftover food from the plates he'd collected on his trolley into the waste bin. One more shift in this place tomorrow, and they'd be finished this job. Halle-fucking-lujah. He never wanted to see the inside of a café again, unless he was sitting at a table stuffing his own face and someone else was paying the bill. He stacked the scraped plates, glasses, cups and cutlery on the bench near the industrial dishwasher, ready to cleaned by someone else. At least he wasn't a dish pig, stuck out here in the kitchen. The number of different smells out here was overwhelming.

He pushed his trolley out through the swinging doors, his eyes immediately scanning for Lucy and sighed in relief when he saw her cheerfully serving an elderly couple coffee. He was glad to see her smiling. It hadn't been a great week for her.

Even though she'd been much calmer at work, walking home in the dark now that they were on evening shift had been hard for her on the first night, nervously glancing behind her, watching the shadows, even though he'd held her hand every step of the way. She'd cried when they reached her apartment, embarrassed about being scared of walking home at night when it had never been a big deal before, and he'd stayed with her. He'd stayed with her every night this week, cuddling her, purring and stroking her hair until she slept, lying next to her in her bed. He had the worst case of blue balls ever, but it was worth it if it meant she felt safe.

He hadn't told her that he knew someone was following them that first night. What good would it do, when she was already frightened? He had a quiet word to Erza and Gray about it the next day, and ever since they'd left work in a group and all walked towards Lucy's apartment together. They were followed every night; whoever they were had kept their distance far enough that he'd decided not to chase them down, but it was frustrating, knowing that he had made a promise to Gramps not to take the initiative.

He mulled over what he knew about the creep that had attacked Lucy. Dario Suarez, involved in local government, connected to a rich family in Crocus. He'd only moved to Magnolia a year ago, and already had connections with most of the other wealthy families around. Natsu had got Gajeel to do a little digging for him. There'd been whispers of payoffs and dirty deals, but no proof. Gajeel did find out that he had four mages working for him as body guards though, which was more than a little worrying. He wasn't worried about himself, but if they decided to attack Lucy while she was alone…

And then there was that bastard yesterday that had demanded his money back after finishing his meal because Lucy wasn't dressed 'as advertised'. The manager had stepped in and smoothed it over, but he knew it had upset her, because that fake smile was back again.

He remembered overhearing a conversation that she had with Levy a while ago, talking about how she had been brought up by her father to be the 'perfect wife', her good looks a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder, a bargaining chip for her father's business deals. It was only through her own tenacity that she had become so well educated on subjects her father had deemed 'unladylike' and had learnt to use magic and the celestial keys left to her by her mother.

He knew she had struggled with her self-confidence when she'd first joined Fairytail, only half-jokingly using her sex appeal to solve problems rather than her strength as a mage. Thankfully that had mostly stopped. She was a valuable member of their team – good at strategy, an excellent long-distance fighter with the help of her spirits, and handy with her whip when it came to close range attacks. Not as physically strong as him, Gray and Erza, but she had got them all out of more jams than he cared to count with her tenacity and willingness to make connections with people, whereas the rest of them tended to just jump into battle. It must be galling to be judged solely on her looks again. This job couldn't end soon enough for him.

He looked at the clock. Only half an hour until their shift finished. He did a final round with his trolley, collecting dessert plates, cups and cutlery from the mostly empty tables, the exceeds helping out by collecting empty glasses. Gray and Wendy were tidying up the drinks and dessert bar, Erza was wiping tables, and Lucy was accepting payment from that last couple and saying good night. It was time to close the front doors and head home. The kitchen staff would do the final lock up.

Natsu moved over towards Lucy's side and took her hand, caressing her wrist with his calloused thumb. "Ready to go Lucy?"

"Sure", she smiled, squeezing his hand before letting go to take the cash box out of the register. She tapped the calculations lacrima, so it spat out a paper record of the days takings. "I'll just take this to the office and then we can head out." She walked out towards the back of the building, smiling cheerfully at the kitchen staff as they greeted her, giving the cash box to the manager on duty, Natsu trailing unobtrusively behind her. Once the money was safely handed over, she took his hand again as they walked back out towards the exit. "Are we waiting for the others?"

"Yup", he grinned, swinging his arm up over her head so she was twirled in a circle, her black skirt fanning out as she spun. She giggled, drawing in close to hug him, resting her cheek against his heart.

"Natsu?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think they've been following me? They know where I live, so it's not that."

Natsu stiffened, then sighed and kissed the top of her head. He should have known that she would notice the pair of mages tailing them every evening.

"I don't know Luce. I know I promised Gramps I wouldn't go after anyone, but if they get any closer, I'm gonna thump 'em. I got Erza to go tell that council mage working on your case about it, so she knows what's happenin'."

"Do you think they're trying to gather information about me? For the court case?"

"Not sure", muttered Natsu, placing a soft kiss in her hair again, "but we're not gonna let them get any closer than they have been."

"I did think about… moving into Fairy Hills for a little while", she said softly. "You know, safety in numbers. But then I was worried about putting the other girls in possible danger. And anyway…" She turned her head and spoke directly into his shirt, her words muffled, and Natsu grinned.

"What was that Luce? Couldn't quite hear you." He made a show of cupping his hand around his ear. He could hear her words fine with his sensitive hearing, but he wanted to make her say them again.

Lucy stepped back from him a little, a pout on her lips, nose wrinkled. "I know perfectly well you heard what I said", she hmphed, a blush colouring her cheeks. Natsu stroked her warm cheek with his hand.

"You're fun to tease, you know that?", he grinned. And then his expression softened. "Say it again for me Lucy, so I can see you say it."

Lucy bit her bottom lip, and then took a deep breath and smiled at him. "And anyway, if I moved there, you couldn't stay with me at night. And I need to be with you. I need to feel my dragon's arms around me."

"That's my little star", smiled Natsu. He stroked his thumb across her bottom lip with a feather light touch and breathed in deeply as her plush lips pursed to kiss it gently with the slightest flick of her tongue, her eyes fixed on his, an impish expression on her face as he rubbed his slightly moistened digit across her lip again. He leaned forward, intent on replacing his thumb with his own lips, but then drew back with an exaggerated sigh when he heard the clank of Erza's armour heading towards them. Lucy giggled, placing a small kiss on his palm, then entwining their fingers together for the short walk back to her apartment with the others.

He swung their joined hands playfully as they walked along through the darkness in companionable silence. They hadn't even really kissed since their mutual confession in the store room a few weeks ago, he had chosen to be led entirely by her. It was slow going at first, a few chaste kisses goodnight, holding hands as they walked to the guild. But during this last week Natsu could feel Lucy beginning to reach out to him once more, initiating hugs like she used to, wrestling him to the ground last night when she caught him trying to eat the last of the choc mint ice-cream in her freezer. She was almost like her old self around him.

They said goodnight to the others as they reached Lucy's corner, Natsu noting that the two people following them turned back and moved into the shadows a little further down the street. He still didn't understand what they were doing. Lucy didn't go anywhere at night, didn't leave her house. A sudden thought made him growl as they mounted the steps to Lucy's apartment. Perhaps they were waiting to see if she would be alone, so they could move in. Bastards. Not on his watch.

Lucy jingled her keys, opening up the door. As she pushed the door open, she noticed a white envelope with her name on it sitting on the floor. That was weird, usually any letters would be in her mailbox downstairs next to the front door. She bent over to pick it up, but Natsu beat her to it, reaching for it and sniffing it carefully, a thoughtful look on his face.

"It smells like whatserface, the council woman who's working on your case", he said holding it out as snatched it back from him.

She glowered at him while she carefully slid her finger under the flap of the envelope and opened it. Natsu watched her face as she read the letter inside and then folded it back up again. He looked at her questioningly as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, which he was coming to realise was a nervous habit. He stepped forwards and gently prised her slightly bruised lip away from her teeth with his thumb.

"What's wrong Lucy?"

"They've set the court date", she said in a flat voice. And then he held her when she burst into tears.

* * *

"Natsu, I want to ask you something." She was sitting on his lap on the sofa, cuddled into his chest, and was much calmer now, the occasional sniff the only evidence of her previous sobs.

He stroked her hair. "Sure, fire away Luce."

She pulled away from him, sitting up so she could look at his face. "I want you to teach me how to punch. Properly. I had one free hand when he had me pinned; maybe if I'd been better at fighting, I could have stopped him."

Natsu considered his words carefully, swiping away the single hot tear that rolled down her cheek with his thumb. She didn't look sad though. She looked angry, determined.

"I'd be happy to teach you anything you wanna know Lucy. You know that. But I'm not sure learning how to punch is exactly what you need." Lucy arched a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Punching is about strength and body weight. You would have still been at a disadvantage, because he was taller and stronger, had more reach than you." He watched her expression fall, quickly moving to stroke her cheek again.

"You gotta go with your strengths. Yours is your brain – you think quick, you're excellent at working out a plan during a fight. You're small, but you're fast. Luce, I'm gonna teach you how to fight dirty. That way, if any sick fuck lays his hands on you again, you can obliterate him. Leave him retching in a pile of his own vomit. I don't want you to ever feel that helpless again." The brilliant smile she gave him made his heart stutter in his chest.

"Show me", she breathed.

"Right now?" She nodded, looking more determined than ever.

"I want you to show me how I could have got away from him."

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "I couldn't exactly see how he had you, because his back was to me."

Lucy sat back against his chest, placing his left hand around her upper arm, and his elbow down, so her arm was locked by her side. She moved his legs so that they were wrapped tightly around her shins, locking her legs in place. He could hear her heart rate escalating, her breaths becoming more shallow.

"Baby, we don't gotta do this right now. We can wait until you're feeling more calm. It's not like I'm…"

"I want to know", Lucy said desperately, between panicked breaths. "I froze Natsu. I froze! If I'd known what to do…" Hesitantly, she grabbed his other hand, and moved it under her skirt. Natsu stiffened, his breath coming out in a gasp. "Please, Natsu."

Forcing back the tears that were threatening, and the thickness in his own throat, he growled out his question. "Where was your other hand?"

Lucy's voice was a little panicked. "O-on the tray, but then I dropped it wh-when his fingers…" she shuddered in Natsu's grasp, and he felt sick to his stomach, wanting nothing more than to drop this hold and hug her properly.

"Reach up with your free hand. See if you can feel my ear, or my eye." Lucy reached up, and he saw how much her hand was shaking. "You're gonna push your thumb in my eye. In a real situation you'd do it as hard as you could. Then you're gonna slam your head back into my chin as hard as you can, and run."

Lucy's breathing was coming so fast now he was worried for her, but she moved her hand and gently placed her thumb against his eye, then tipped her head back, tapping him on the chin. Then she slumped in his grasp, and he moved his hands to cradle her, rocking her against his chest. He let his tears fall.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry. So sorry." He wasn't sure if he was rocking for her benefit or his own. The guilt was still there, that he hadn't stepped in sooner that day, when he knew what that bastard had said. If only he'd trusted his gut, gone over and punched him before he'd had a chance to lay his filthy hands on Lucy. He felt her twist in his arms.

"Shhhh, it's okay", she murmured, stroking his hair, placing soft kisses on his cheeks, on his chin, on his forehead. She moved so that she was straddling his lap, her hands in his hair tugging gently, soft lips taking away his tears. He opened his eyes to see her soft gaze full of emotion, and he stroked her fringe out of the way, so he could see them better.

"I love you so much Luce", he murmured, his voice still gravelly from crying. She smiled at him, her lips curving upwards slowly.

"I love you too, Natsu", she cooed. Before he had a chance to ask, she kissed him, shuffling closer so her breasts were pushed up to his chest, her soft expressive lips moving gently over his, her little pink tongue sliding over his bottom lip. A rumbling purr began in his chest and she giggled.

"Natsu", she asked softly, "could you stay here with me tonight?"

He grinned at her teasingly. "Have you been comatose or somethin'? I've stayed here every night this week."

She shook her head a little, her blonde locks shifting about her shoulders. She moved on his lap, rocking her hips against his, and he groaned. She rocked her hips again and gave him a teasing grin of her own.

"I want you to _stay_ with me, my dragon", she cooed, her forefinger stroking gently down his chest towards his stomach. Natsu's eyes took on a predatory gleam as his hands drifted down her back and grasped two delicious handfuls of Lucy's bottom cheeks.

"Whatever you say, little star."

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, and for a moment, they just gazed at each other, until Natsu moved his hands up to her waist, a serious expression on his face.

"Lucy, you know we don't gotta do… _everything_ tonight right? You're not gonna hurt my feelings if you ask me to slow down, or stop, or tell me that you don't like what I'm doin'." He shrugged. "It's not like I'm an expert anyway."

Lucy smiled at him, her fingers stroking through the dark pink locks above his neck. "Okay."

"There's, uh, another thing I want to talk to you about. Um, you know that Igneel was a dragon right?"

Lucy giggled at him. "Yeah, that was pretty hard to miss."

Natsu chuckled. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm not good with words, and this is kinda hard for me. I don't wanna mess this up."

Lucy stroked his cheek softly. "Natsu, you know you can talk with me about anything."

Natsu huffed out a huge breath. "Okay. I'm a dragonslayer, not a dragon, but there are certain dragon characteristics that come with it. The stronger the magic, the stronger the dragonish traits. Things like sense of smell, being able to eat our element, not being damaged by our element, dragon force… you understand me so far Luce?"

"Mmm hmm", she said, continuing to stroke his cheek. Natsu placed his larger hand over hers. "I don't know everything about this. Igneel left when I was only young, and we didn't get to talk much about what might happen when I'm older."

"What about the other dragonslayers. Can you talk to them?" Natsu snorted.

"Wendy's too young. Sting and Rogue are idiots. Well, maybe not Rogue, but Sting, definitely."

"What about Gajeel? He's a little older than you, isn't he?"

Natsu glanced down to one side, a little shiftily. "We've… talked. He doesn't know much more than me. Levy's been helpin' him though. Tryin' to find any ancient texts about dragonslayers."

Lucy giggled. "I knew it! I just knew something was going on between them!"

"Yeah. Not sure if he's told her yet." He shrugged a little impatiently, bringing both her hands down to his lap, and squeezing them gently in his. "But I don't wanna talk about them right now. Gajeel and I figured somethin' out, and that's what I'm tryin' to tell you. Dragons mate for life. Find another dragon that complements them, makes them whole. We think dragonslayers are the same."

Lucy looked at him with round eyes. He could hear her heart beating faster, and he blurted out the rest of what he wanted to say in a rush.

"Ever since I've met you Lucy, I've felt this sort of pull towards you, and it's only gotten stronger the more time we've spent together. Needin' to be near you, wantin' to protect you. Even when I was away from you, you were on my mind all the time; it was a struggle every day not to run home to you, even though I needed that time away to work stuff out in my head. I think there's a reason that you can calm me down when no one else can, a reason that I fight harder when you're there to protect. I think my dragon has chosen you."

"Chosen?"

Natsu nodded, tilting his head to one side, trying to work out how Lucy was feeling about this. He could sense that she was nervous, but he guessed that was to be expected.

"So what does that mean, exactly?" she asked quietly, her eyes locked on his.

Natsu squeezed her hands again. "It means I love you. It means that I will never love another like I love you. Gajeel said Levy did find some texts that mentioned the word 'mate', but I don't really like that word. I'm not an animal, and neither are you. But you're special. I've guessed for a while now, but the first night my dragon called to you, that thing you call a purr, was when I knew for sure. The one person in all the world that my dragon feels called to, that it wants to be close to forever. My chosen."

Lucy's eyes pooled with tears. But before Natsu could reach up she blinked them away, and the smile that she gave him was blinding.

"I may not be a dragonslayer Natsu, but my heart has chosen you too." She leaned forward to kiss him, at first gently and then more passionately, tugging her hands away from his and threading her fingers through his hair, tugging on the dark pink locks. He responded by picking her up, coaxing her legs to wrap around his waist as walked over towards her bed.

* * *

Natsu screwed up his eyes tight. Sunlight was shining directly onto his face, and he groaned, rolling over, and stretching his arm out, patting and reaching, then opening his eyes realising the person his arm was trying to locate was no longer in the bed.

He sat up, scratching the back of his neck, yawning and stretching. When the delicious aroma of bacon reached his nose, he was out of bed in a flash, pausing only to pick up his loose pants, stepping into them on his way to Lucy's little kitchen.

To his disappointment, she was already dressed, busily frying bacon, eggs and sausages. A pile of buttered toast was already on the table, along with coffee for her and juice for him. She turned and looked over her shoulder, smiling at him, and then dropping her gaze. Surely she wasn't feeling shy, after everything they did last night? Grinning, he walked over to her and dropped his mouth to the curve of her neck, blowing the loudest raspberry he could manage. Lucy giggled, but reached up behind her with one hand, her fingers stroking through his hair, her other busy turning the bacon with tongs so it didn't burn.

"Good morning Natsu", she said, leaning her weight back against him for a moment. He curled his arms around her waist, squeezing gently. "Breakfast is almost ready; did you want to sit down?"

"I'd rather stay here and keep you company", he grinned, kissing her cheek. "Why'd you get up so early, anyway?"

"Just thinking", she said. Something in her voice made him stiffen.

"Luce, you don't… regret… what we…"

Lucy moved the pan off the heat and switched off the element, turning in his grasp to give him a firm kiss on the lips.

"Not at all, so you can get that weird expression off your face right now!" she said. She sighed. "No, I was just thinking about the court case. We should probably go see Gramps and the others at the guild this morning, to let them know what's going on."

Relief flooded through Natsu. Even though it had been her choice last night, he had still worried that maybe it was too soon, that she wasn't ready. He should have known better.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess."

He watched as Lucy loaded up the plates with food, and then carried his own across to the table. He enjoyed eating breakfast with her in the morning, watching the way she always sniffed her coffee appreciatively and sighed dramatically before taking that first sip, the way she delicately cut up her food with a knife and fork, chewing slowly, where he piled his between toast and scarfed it down quickly as a sandwich.

There were so many differences between them, the way they had been brought up, the way they approached life, but he had never felt closer to anyone else, even Igneel. He watched her sip the last dregs of her coffee.

"Luce, I'm still hungry."

Lucy glared at him over the rim of her coffee cup. "Natsu, you've officially cleaned me out. There's nothing else here to eat, until we go shopping later today."

Placing his hands on the edge of the table, he leaned forward and gave her a predatory grin, running his tongue over his fangs. "Nothin' else to eat huh? I wouldn't be so sure about that Luce." Getting up, he watched the blush stain her cheeks as she pushed back from the table herself, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Gotta catch me first, dragon boy!" She cackled as he lunged at her and missed, running around the table and leaping over the sofa, scattering the cushions. In only two more steps, he'd caught her and flung her over his shoulder, marching back to the bedroom, laughing at the way her giggles snorted through her nose. The guild could wait.

* * *

Much later, they arrived at the guild for a well earned lunch. He watched the way everyone greeted Lucy, his heart warming at her genuine smile. He was so proud of the way that Fairytail had rallied around her. He wasn't exactly sure how they knew, but nearly everyone had come up to her with quiet words of support, even Wakaba and Macao, whom he'd had doubts about.

They sat down at the bar, eager to see what Mira had going for lunch today. She walked over to them with a grin, polishing a glass. "So, how are my favourite lovebirds today?" she smiled, obviously amused by Lucy's reddened cheeks and Natsu's quiet growl. "Before I tell you what's for lunch, I've got a message for you Lucy. Jason from Sorcerer's Weekly is here to see you. He's waiting in the Master's office."

Lucy looked puzzled, but got up straight away, Natsu trailing behind her.

"Natsu, wait, he asked to see Lucy privately!" called Mira, then giggled at the way Natsu rolled his eyes at her.

"This is weird", muttered Lucy, as they walked up the steps towards Makarov's office. "I haven't seen Jason since I worked at Sorcerer's Weekly when you were… away." Natsu took her hand in his and squeezed. She smiled at him, and then knocked on Makarov's office door. The door opened, and Natsu followed close behind Lucy as she walked in, sliding in before Gramp's could close the door on him and keep him out.

Jason looked perturbed to see Natsu there, but when Lucy reached out and entwined her and Natsu's fingers together, he reacted like an overexcited puppy, letting out a few exclamations of 'Cool!' as he reached for his notepad. Natsu's low rumbling growl and lighted fist held under his nose had him settling down quite quickly.

When they were all seated, Jason rubbed the back of his neck, looking anxiously at Lucy, but seemingly not sure how to begin what he wanted to say.

"I'm assuming this isn't a social visit Jason", began Gramps.

Jason sighed. "No", he said. He looked back towards Lucy. "Lucy, have you ever hand any dealings with Dario Suarez?" When he saw Lucy stiffen, and Natsu's arm curl around her comfortingly, he added, "I'll take that's a yes." He sighed again, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I had his lawyer visit me yesterday. Wanted to know about the time you'd worked for us, the photo shoots you'd done. I told him that you'd done a few swimsuit spreads for us but that you had asked if you could work on the editing team instead and that you'd been a model employee, very hard working. But then he…" Jason swallowed, looking at Natsu cautiously.

"He what", rumbled Natsu. Already he didn't like where this was going.

Jason closed his eyes. "He asked me if you'd done any _private_ shoots, to get your job. Inferred that you might have offered yourself to me to get the position you wanted." Natsu's escalating growl filled the room.

"What did you say Jason?" asked Lucy softly.

"No, of course!" said Jason with heat, his eyes snapping to Lucy. "Lucy, I loved working with you, but we both know there was absolutely nothing like that going on between us. Especially since you were waiting for… well, um." His eyes glanced towards Natsu, and away again.

"Then he asked if it were possible to obtain a file of the original swimsuit photos we took of you. Said his client was an avid reader of the magazine and would be happy to make a generous donation. I told him that it was impossible, that the magazine never gave copies of files to anyone."

Jason looked at Lucy anxiously. "Lucy, I'm worried for you. Dario Suarez is a dangerous enemy to have. He's got bucketloads of money, and a team of high-quality mages working for him. What happened for him to be going after you?"

Lucy raised her chin as she looked Jason in the eye. "I'm bringing charges against him for sexual assault."

Jason gazed at her for a moment, his mouth open. "Bastard", he said, giving Lucy a look of sympathy. Then he walked over to her and grinned, opening her hand and dropping a small lacrima into it. "Good thing I recorded the whole conversation then, isn't it?"


End file.
